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Case Reports
. 2011 Oct;6(4):237-40.
doi: 10.4103/1817-1737.84781.

Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis with low fluorodeoxyglucose accumulation in PET/computed tomography

Ersin Günay  1 , Aysenaz Ozcan, Sibel Günay, Ebru Tatci, Atila Ihsan Keyf, Cebrail Simsek
Affiliations
Case Reports

Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis with low fluorodeoxyglucose accumulation in PET/computed tomography

Ersin Günay et al. Ann Thorac Med. 2011 Oct.

Abstract

Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis (PAM) is an uncommon lung disease characterized by accumulation of intraalveolar calcifications. The disease can be diagnosed based on the radiological findings. We present a 27-year-old women with five-year history of shortness of breath. She was diagnosed with PAM due to the presence of the characteristic chest X-ray and thorax computed tomography (CT) findings. We performed (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/CT imaging in order to detect any evidence of inflamation in the lung before deciding an anti-inflammatory treatment. The lung regions with dense calcifications revealed low FDG uptakes (SUVmax: 2.7) and the lung regions without calcifications showed lower FDG uptakes. No further treatment modality was planned besides inhaler salbutamol. Herein, we discuss this rare entity with literature search.

Keywords: FDG; PET/CT; inflammation; pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PA chest X-ray of the patient showing bilateral symmetrical micronodular alveolar opacities obscuring cardiac and diaphragmatic shadows
Figure 2
Figure 2
Thorax CT sections of the patient demonstrating bilateral parenchymal micronodular opacities, ground-glass apearance, and mediastinal pleural calcifications on mediastinal (a) and lung (b) windows. Opacities dominantly located at the lower lung regions
Figure 3
Figure 3
The 99mTc bone scintigraphy of the patient showing diffuse uptake in both the lungs
Figure 4
Figure 4
18FDG-PET/CT showing low FDG uptakes (SUVmax: 2.7) in the lower lung areas with oppacities and lower FDG uptakes in the normal lung areas
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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